Basic Definition of “Social Isolation and Loneliness”

‘Social isolation and loneliness’ are complex.  Loneliness is often experienced as more of an anxious or sad feeling.  However, you don’t necessarily have to be alone in order to experience it. Sometimes you can feel lonely even when surrounded by other people.

And, being ‘alone’ could be good or bad; it doesn’t necessarily mean you are lonely.  We all want to be alone at least once in a while; for example, when you feel tired and would like to take a nap.  Another example is that some people may prefer living alone versus living with others and are perfectly content with that choice.

Personal Motivation and Initiative. 

One factor sometimes affecting isolation and loneliness in older adults is simply a person’s motivations and initiative.  Some people are fun, good people, but are not very good at ‘breaking the ice’.

A number of individuals don’t seem to have that initiative or ability to initiate an interaction.  They are often fine and fun to be with when someone else takes the initiative to start an interaction.  But if someone else does not initiate the connection or interaction, the interaction never takes place.  Once they get over that initial first step, they are often fine.

Insights/Advice:

Each individual needs to take the initiative, but some don’t know how or are really incapable of doing that.  Oftentimes, this lack of motivation or initiative is a personality-related issue that can be hard to change.  It is part of why they are isolated. 

It can be a hard job to get some people motivated to participate.  Some are scared; possibly afraid of rejection. 

Some don't want to ‘compete’ socially; they feel inadequate or uncomfortable. 

Opportunities are out there for older adults; find your interests.  Take the initiative to get an association or connection, and be persistent; stick to it for a while.  Be open to opportunities; break out of your comfort zone.  Be more proactive in calling people/friends.

One caveat: Sociability, or the lack of, can be situational.  There are times, for example, when you just don't want to join other people for dinner.  A couple may want to eat alone or just dine with each other.  There are times, too, when you may be tired and just don’t want to interact with people.  ‘Situational sociability’ is quite different from social isolation and loneliness.

Technology and the Internet. 

There is a lot of potential for technology to help us battle isolation and loneliness among older adults.  Some examples include:

Robotics.  One example that was cited: Robots exist that can read the same books as you, and can actually discuss the book with you.  An interesting new option that is still primitive at this point, but is getting better fast.

Smart-Phone and Computer Apps.  Currently, there are apps that can alert you, for example, that someone is nearby that is interested in meeting to get coffee.  Or, other affinity-related apps for alerting you that I’m available and nearby for a walk, etc.

Alexa/Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Taking the above affinity apps one step further, Alexa or similar AI capabilities allow a person to ask it to find others that want (e.g.) coffee, or other affinities.  ‘Alexa’, by requiring just talking or speaking, can make these activities or benefits even easier to do.

Woven into these discussions, though, is the caveat that older adults wanted and needed better and simpler setups for using this technology.  Simplicity, good instruction, and ease of use were critical to them, otherwise, these barriers can deter many older adults from using these technologies.

Isolation and loneliness 2

Isolation and loneliness are very real fears for many older adults.   

There are a number of identified ways to help combat isolation and loneliness in either our own lives or the lives of others, as we grow older.  Here is a list (in no particular order):

Pets.  Having your own pet, or helping someone else with their pet, can be very helpful.  For example, walking a neighbour’s dog every day.  Pet responsibilities can help give people purpose and meaning.

Senior clubs.  Our explorers are aware of a number of great clubs, which often provide and arrange transportation as well.  Typically, the clubs offer a wide variety of arts, education, and physical exercise opportunities.

Affinity clubs or organizations.  Become a member of a formal or informal group that is united by a common theme or activity.  Find what you like to do, take the initiative to find like-minded people, and stick to it.  This will be a big help in mitigating social isolation and loneliness.

Cross-generational interactions.  Try to have interactions with different generations.  For example, living at an all-age residential hotel (vs. more age-segregated).  Some older adults like the atmosphere and the energy they experience, and they often learn new things in their multigenerational experiences.  

Good neighbours.  People nearby that you can trust and that can check in on you periodically.  These simple interactions can be very valuable and oftentimes turn into genuine friendships.

Housing options.  Various community living and care arrangements which can help provide or facilitate companionship.  For example, multigenerational living facilities, co-housing with matched renters, and accessory-unit rentals can increase social contacts and interactions.

‘Buddy’ system, or a check-in system.  Having some sort of daily-checking routine can be very helpful and reassuring and combat isolation and loneliness.  For example, sending a text to a family member every day before lunch; or, making sure your living room curtains are open every morning (to let neighbours know that you are up and about).

Regular visitors, or social service program visitors.  Simple visitation can be a big help in fighting isolation and loneliness.  Whether it be a friend, family member, neighbour, or an assigned social service volunteer; their visits and conversations are often much anticipated and appreciated by older adults.

The internet.  Easy access to the internet can make a big difference.  It does not replace the need for social interactions, but it can be a good substitute sometimes, as well as a great source for interests and online activities.  People may need to be taught how to use the internet, and it can be expensive for some.

Television.  Even television can help reduce the feeling of social isolation and loneliness.  It gives you a connection with the outside world.  Its advantage is that it is familiar and can be easy to operate.

Robots; AI (artificial intelligence); Alexa.  These options seem to be primitive at this point, but they also seem to be getting better very quickly.  They can provide a partial solution to social isolation, but cannot truly replace human face-to-face social interaction.  Some explorers see a lot of potential here.

Community education courses for older adults.  Community classes for older adults can be very good for social interaction.  Not only that, but they are typically a lot of fun and very educational. 

Causes of Isolation and Loneliness contributing factors

There are a number of things that can contribute to social isolation and loneliness.  They can range from aspects of your mental and physical health to where you live and your financial situation.  Each one has the potential to limit human contact and thus increase the chances of social isolation.

Hearing.  This is a big one.  You may not be able to talk on the phone.  Group meetings or basic social interactions can be hard.  It could be very easy to lose contact with friends.

Eyesight.  Deteriorating vision can limit driving, mobility, reading, and more.  Poor eyesight may cause you to stay in your room more; you may not feel as confident now as you used to when you could see better.  For example, you don’t go out as much because you feel more vulnerable and less secure.  This lack of mobility can make you feel like you are stuck in your own prison.

Poor physical health.  For example, a heart condition.  Poor health may prevent you from participating in your previous hobbies (e.g., golf).  Older adults may have to find new hobbies due to physical ailments.  This could contribute to greater social isolation.

Mobility issues.  Examples could include not being able to walk very well, not being able to drive anymore and living somewhere with limited access to public transportation.  Obviously, factors that could lead to increased isolation.

Age-segregated communities.  The type of housing we occupy can greatly affect not only our physical but also our mental wellbeing.  Poorly designed housing complexes, coupled with an age-segregated population of older adults needing help with basic living, could contribute to unhappiness from a sense of isolation, decreased mobility, ill health, and cognitive decline.   

Cognitive or memory impairment.  Dementia can add a very complicated layer to the already complicated issue of isolation and loneliness in older adults.  It can contribute to, as well as exacerbate, isolation and loneliness.  It makes loneliness mitigation attempts even more challenging and difficult.

Fixed income.  Unfortunately, having lower and fixed incomes can be limiting when you age.   Tight finances can limit the options and opportunities available to some older adults, thus possibly increasing isolation and maybe loneliness.  For example, affording home-care services, or the basic costs of leisurely endeavours.

Retired/empty nester.  The daily and weekly social interactions that you may have been used to, or happened kind of automatically at work or with previous household members, are now not there anymore.  The family may be farther away, making isolation more likely.

Death of a partner/spouse and friends.  It can be hard to replace old, longtime friends with new ones.  And even if you can, it often takes time.  Isolation and loneliness can sometimes creep in.

Lack of purpose or meaning in life.  This can sometimes be a core reason for loneliness.  There’s an old saying that everyone needs something to make them get up and out of bed in the morning.

Difficulty making contact with others.  For some people, it can be hard to interact with other people.  Sometimes, you just need to get out of your comfort zone to initiate social connections.  It can be easy to talk oneself out of it.  Often times, it is the hardest part and you just need to force yourself to do it.

Alexa is my friend

"Alexa is my friend" is a comment that many of the seniors who were interacting with the tool said. It seems there are times when it is nice to have a friendly AI to talk to — and to have her play music; tell you about the weather; adjust your lights, and tell you a joke when you need to hear one. So, if you are alone, perhaps this interaction is a way to combat loneliness.

There are many groups looking at this issue, AARP Foundation has a program for "Social Connectedness Voice-activated Technology", which has a goal of determining whether the technology of this type can help older adults fight isolation and loneliness. And Front Porch and the Consumer Technology Association Foundation are rolling out Alexa to senior living facilities in the hope of impacting loneliness and isolation via the Voice-activated Independence for Smart Home Engagement (VISHN) initiative.

This is a great place to start. As Tech Life worked with seniors and the Amazon Echo Show, with its excellent video-call capability, they realized that there is now the potential for something even better than humans interacting with an AI. That is interacting with Other Humans (with Alexa's Help)

The seniors working with Tech Life, when talking about Alexa, inevitably someone will say: "But I don't really want to talk to a machine. I want to interact more with other people."

In its latest form, Tech Life believes that Alexa has the potential to help facilitate deeper, and more frequent, human to human interactions.

There are two aspects to the combination of Alexa and the Amazon Echo Show that made Tech Life excited about the potential for more (and better) engagement between older adults and their friends and family.

The biggest and most important capability is a super simple, video call capability. You just say "Alexa, call John" and (so long as you did the initial setup correctly), Alexa places a video call to the "John" you had in mind, and his face appears on the Echo Show and you can interact with him.

My friends and I make conventional phone calls, with a voice command, and it is very easy. However, as we age and, in that ageing, develop physical or mental imperfections might make it harder to make a phone call with more conventional technology this voice capability becomes more important.

Life happens and as we age, we circle of friends and family grows smaller. As we age many of us now have close friends and family members who live somewhere sufficiently far away to make face-to-face meetings less frequent than we would like. What many of us want are more (and/or deeper) interactions with those distant friends and family members.

In my opinion, technology has a real role to play here. I talk to my daughter who lives in Australia, but we have deeper and more meaningful conversations when we video chat. Now we use Facebook Messenger now, but earlier we used Skype. Alexa and the Amazon Echo Show seems like the next easy transition to make.

I know that the "perfect" technology does not yet exist, and the "best technology that does exist" seems to be too complicated for many people to want to use. There is a sort of adoption barrier, the height of which relates to how hard people think the technology is to use.

For many years video calls were the best way (so far) to Interact at a distance and people found this out when Skype made this option available to many of us. Apple started offering its FaceTime option and then others followed. Facebook now offers a video messenger as does Alexa and the Amazon Echo Show and I am sure many other social media platforms offer this option as well.

I (and many others) have found that video calls are the next best thing for staying in touch — both with family members and with friends and acquaintances. It seems there is a depth of connection you get with a video that is just not there with a conventional voice call. And video calls seem to make it easier to just "hang out", even if you don't have a specific set of information to impart.

But here is the problem. Today's video call technology, while enormously better than in the recent past, is still intimidating to many of the older adults.

I am not a big Apple fan, but my wife and son are, and my son uses Facetime and tells me it is remarkably simple and has excellent quality. And for a one on one conversation when both parties are comfortable using Facetime, he is not sure it can be improved on.

The potential for Alexa and the Amazon Echo Show is for the many seniors are just not comfortable using Facetime, or are not in the Apple world (competitors like Skype are harder to use in my opinion), and many don't have a smartphone or a computer with a camera.

The big advantages of a video call on the Amazon Echo Show are the simplicity: "Alexa call John". And the specific hardware implementation (all in one; no need for smartphone or computer; loud and high-quality sound).

A quite different challenge that many of the older adults are interested in addressing is how to make new friends, or meet acquaintances who share common interests.

One of the challenges is that the people who we can easily interact with (because they live close by, or attend the same church or Village meetings you do) are not necessarily the people we share interests or have the personality traits that will make them our best friend.

In our society, older adults are often segregated by age, and people make the assumption is that we will want to hang out with others just because we are of a similar age. But what if, like me, you care less about a person's age than about their interests or opinions or type of personality?

Affinity groups as a way to meet new people is an intriguing idea. Would it be interesting to be part of a group characterized not just by age, but by something you care about such as a common interest or shared experience? Today there are many examples of this. There are Meetups. And there are various online "meeting" sites, where you can make new friends. And we think these are excellent ideas.

But what if the Meetup you want to attend is too far away? Or if it is at night and you don't like to go out at night?

This is where we are wondering if the Amazon Echo Show might play a role. Maybe this could be the tool that makes it easier to attend meetings remotely, opening up a new group of potential human-human interactions?

There are many ideas, but Tech Life’s opinion, the largest issue, especially for a target demographic of older adults, is the complexity of getting Alexa set up in the first place. Maybe this is not a huge deal. But it would certainly be an excellent improvement if the setup process could be made simpler.

Tech Life came to the conclusion that the combination of a voice-activated AI — and the easy video call a capability which that AI can facilitate on one's behalf — might be a real game-changer as we seek tools to reduce social isolation. Time will tell if they are right, but I think they are on to a great idea.